Julie Delpy, Emma D’Arcy and Takehiro Hira Join Sonoya Mizuno’s ‘Stages’ for A24 as Focus Boards for International

Cameras have started rolling on “Stages,” the directorial debut of “Ex Machina,” “Devs,” “Civil War” and “House of the Dragon” star Sonoya Mizuno.

Now shooting in the U.K., the film — first announced in December — has unveiled its ensemble cast, which includes Julie Delpy (“Meet the Barbarians,” “The Lesson”), Takehiro Hira (“Rental Family,” “Shōgun”), Kathryn Hunter (“Poor Things,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Kate Dickie (“Dept. Q,” “Werwulf”) and Emma D’Arcy (“Digger,” “House of the Dragon”).

“Stages” is being produced by Peter Rice and Agile Films’ Sam Ritzenberg and Myles Payne, alongside Alex Garland, with whom Mizuno has had a long onscreen collaboration, and executive produced by Jeremy Thomas.

A24 has acquired domestic rights, while Focus Features has boarded for international rights and will distribute internationally by Universal Pictures International (UPI).

Details of the “Stages” plot have also been revealed, with the film following a young dancer at an elite ballet school finally earns the lead in a prestigious recital, but her focus is shattered by a family tragedy. Mizuno herself was a ballet dancer and trained at the Royal Ballet School before dancing with companies including English National Ballet, Dresden Semperoper Ballet and Scottish Ballet.